Violence Design for Stage & Screen

Violence Design

What is Violence Design?

Put simply, violence design is stage combat. However, when many of us hear the term stage combat (fight direction, coordination or choreography) we tend to think only of flashy sword fights or complicated martial arts duels. We frame it as a series of moves taught to actors by a highly trained movement professional.

Violence Design is most certainly all of these things, but a Violence Designer is just that, a Designer. Like any other designer the Violence Designer is an integral part of the creative team, an individual who works with the artistic team create violence driven by the character needs and production aesthetic.

A Violence Designer also knows that not all choreographed violence is a fight. Sometimes it is an assault, a beating, a torture, or a rape. The emotional connection to this type of violence for both performers and audience is an important consideration demanding the highest professionalism.